Leah Wallway of La Center was worried she wouldn’t get the chance to win her third county championship.
First, the junior was sidelined earlier this season by skin infection. Then, as she was working her way back into form, a snowstorm two weeks ago wiped the 53rd annual Norm Friehauf Clark County Championships off the schedule.
“I was getting kind of nervous because I didn’t know if they were going to reschedule the meet or not,” Wallway said. “So when I found out they were, I was like ‘Yeah! We’re going for that third title. I need to have it now.’ ”
Wallway got it with a 10-0 decision over Jasmine Cha of Camas to win the 105-pound girls title and becoming one of six three-time champions at the annual wrestling showcase on Saturday at Union High School.
“I think things went pretty well,” Wallway said. “In my finals match, I didn’t give my coaches a heart attack.”
There was also a lack of drama for three-time champions Owen Pritchard of Skyview, Noah Koyama of Union and Kiersten Lees of Washougal. All three won their finals matches by pin.
Pritchard won the 126 boys title, Koyama took the 138 boys title and Lees captured the 130 girls crown.
Third titles came with challenges for Skyview’s JJ Schoenlein and Columbia River’s Tennyson Kurtz.
Schoenlein found himself in a thrilling final at 175 pounds against Camas’ Kannon Freschette.
Every time Schoenlein would build a lead, Freschette would rally back. The match was tied until Schoenlein scored a takedown with five seconds left to win 15-13.
Kurtz took a five-point lead into the final period in his 157-pound finals against Nathan Wadleigh of Mountain View. But Wadleigh was able to cut the deficit down to one point in the final 15 seconds of the third round. But Kurtz was able to hang on for the victory.
Union had two wrestlers become back-to-back champions in Niah Cassidy (125 girls) and Armando Nicasio (165 boys).
Skyview boys had four others county champions – Jonas DesRochers (113), Mason DesRochers (120), Kyler Nelson (132) and Hezachariah Po Ching (285) – to take the team title, outdistancing Camas 226-195. Union placed third at 188.
“I feel like this is a great way to lead toward the postseason after winning the team title (in this event) for like the first time 15 years, I think,” Pritchard said. “I feel like our team will be really motivated going into districts.”
Other boys champions were Desmond Villanueva of Union (106), Ashton Baker of King’s Way Christian (144), Kingston McPherson (150) and Ayden Denbo (215) of Mountain View and Jackson Lougen of Camas (190).
Led by champions Kamaile Taisacan (115) and Katharine Thompson (135), Mountain View edged Camas by a single point, 129-128, to take the girls team title. Skyview was third at 119. Scheduling conflicts kept Prairie and Hudson’s Bay from participating in the rescheduled meet.
Other girls champions included Battle Ground’s Isabel Brown (100) and Lorelei Brown (110), Evergreen’s Grace Cooper (155) and Kadence Burleson (170), Skyview’s Ashlynn Buoy (145) and Madisyn Cardens (235), Columbia River’s Jersey O’Neill (140), Hockinson’s Lilah Hines (140) and Camas’ Avery Vega Padilla (190).
